Gone Away Is The Bluebird
by Solo Ensemble
Summary: AU a nice, fluffy, happy Liason holiday fic with a good healthy dose of the King of Cool, Dean Martin.


**Prompt: Dean Martin**

**Note: **I wrote this in an attempt to save face because FF #164 (Silver Treetop University) was so dismal. :b This is for Kris. The song doesn't really follow the story that much, but for the first time ever, I don't care. I achieved what I wanted with this piece.

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**Gone Away Is The Bluebird**

A fat snowflake landed on the tip of her tongue as Elizabeth Webber walked alone through the brightly lit streets of Port Charles. It was Christmas Eve and the entire city was tucked away cozily in warm, cheerily decorated houses – all except her, of course. There was no way she was going to pass up a nighttime walk during the first snowfall of the season. She had been afraid that Port Charles wouldn't have a white Christmas after all, but her wish had come true.

She rounded the corner, thinking that she'd walk over past the garage and antique shop to Eli's and get a single order of ribs to go, but the sight in front of her had her stopping in her tracks.

Jason Morgan stood right in front of Spencer's Garage, raking a hand through his golden spikes in frustration as his black Benz was towed inside. A slow smile rose to her lips as she took in the sight of the businessman she had run into quite a lot during the winter season. He had shown up at the gallery where she was planning her exhibit, and they had hit it off right away. They had planned a couple of dates but things always kept coming up. Finally, two weeks ago, she had been in New York City for a meeting and had met him right outside Rockefeller Center. Since neither of them had any plans, he had convinced her to let him show her around his little town and they spent the rest of the night walking around the Big Apple with coffee in one hand and a giant soft pretzel in the other.

And now it seemed as if Jason Morgan was stuck in Port Charles for Christmas.

He let out a slow breath, closing his eyes as twin torrents of vapor bled into the frigid air, and when he turned on the heel of his calfskin shoes, their eyes met. Jason stopped for a moment, and then a slow, sexy grin curled his lips, matching her own.

_Sleigh bells ring; are you listening?  
__In the lane snow is glistening_

His eyes devoured her nimble form, dressed in blue jeans, black boots, a knee-length black wool coat and a blue knit hat, as Elizabeth sauntered toward him with slow, deliberate steps and a pleased little smirk on her plush lips.

"Long time, no see, stranger," she purred, coming to a stop before him. Jason could only grin in reply as he brushed the snow off his own black woolen coat. "What brings you by my neck of the woods?"

"A busted waterbelt," he replied ruefully though his eyes twinkled merrily. "Although I can't say I'm complaining."

She beamed at his words and her smirk grew to a full-fledged grin. "Neither am I."

_A beautiful sight, oh, we're happy tonight  
__Walking in a winter wonderland_

His eyes had never left hers. "Enjoying the snow?"

"You know it," she smiled, turning and linking her arm with his. "Wanna join me in my walk?"

He laughed and linked their fingers, content to follow where she lead. "Definitely. After all, I showed you around my town – now it's time for you to show me around yours."

The idea pleased her and she placed her other hand on his bicep, excited. "Come on, let's head toward the park. It's so beautiful this time of year."

_Gone away is the bluebird  
__Yeah, here to stay is a new bird_

"That's the covered bridge," she explained as they rounded the walkway through the park toward the wooden bridge over the small creek. "Apparently, there was a covered bridge over the creek there – which used to be a river – back during Revolutionary times, and last year we finally raised enough to rebuild it."

Jason looked up into the rafters as they crossed the creek and noticed several small black birds twittering amongst themselves, trying to stay warm. "New York definitely needs more covered bridges."

Elizabeth laughed and pulled him along, sticking close to his side. "I agree; covered bridges add character."

He smirked at that and looked down at her, taking in the way her porcelain skin glowed under the moonlight. He had been immediately taken with Elizabeth Webber since the minute he saw her at the gallery, and it was clear now that getting stuck in what seemed like a sleepy little town on his way down from his conference upstate was the best stroke of holiday luck ever.

_He sings a love song as we go along  
__Walking in a winter wonderland_

"Where to now?"

"Well, let's walk toward the center of town," Elizabeth suggested, "and you can see all the decorations. Oh, and the snowmen we made in the center lot!"

"Snowmen?"

She was nodding emphatically. "Oh, yeah, it's tradition. Every year we have a snowman building contest, and everyone in town participates. See past the gazebo there? You can kinda see them."

He looked where she was pointing and as they drew closer he could make out a veritable army of snow creatures. "Wow. Look at all those!" Elizabeth giggled and grabbed his hand, urging him to run with her. He followed her down the sidewalk and across the street until they were standing on the lot with the snowmen. "Which one's yours?"

She pulled him toward a small snow sculpture that barely reached his waist. "This one!"

_Well, in the meadow we can build a snowman  
__And pretend that he is Parson Brown_

Ignoring the snow that coated the knees of his coat, Jason knelt down next to it. "Is that…"

"Pinocchio!" she finished with a flourish and a grin. "My favorite Disney character. See, there's his boots and overalls – see the buttons? – and his hat, and that's his long nose. I wanted to make strings, but that didn't work too well."

Jason got up from the ground and grinned at her. "You're as talented with snow as you are with paint, Webber." She laughed as he looked around, and his gaze stopped on an impressive snowman nearby. "And that…is that who I think it is?"

"It's the Pope!" Elizabeth grinned, clapping her hands. "My best friend Lu made that, with her husband, Johnny. They're both Catholic," she added, as if that explained everything, and in a way, it did.

"He's got his hand raised and everything," Jason chuckled. "Classic. Where to now?"

"Well, that depends," the brunette beauty practically in his arms smiled. "What do _you_ want to do?"

Jason smirked down at her. "Get you someplace warm – your lips are starting to turn blue."

She blushed visibly when his gaze lingered on her lips, then nodded. "All right, let's head to Kelly's – there's a mug of hot chocolate there with our names written on it!"

_He'll say are you married, we'll say no, man;  
__Oh, but you can do the job when you're in town!_

They walked hand in hand up the cobbled walkway that led to Elizabeth's favorite diner and were about to round the corner around the brick wall when they almost collided with a tiny brunette with long, scraggly, unkempt hair and large vacuous brown eyes. Elizabeth nearly tripped in the near-hit and Jason steadied her easily, wrapping his arms around her waist until she regained her balance.

The other brunette, however, had been eyeing him through this whole time and Jason couldn't help but frown at her appearance. She was a bit shorter than Elizabeth and despite the frigid winter temperatures, she was wearing a black leather miniskirt and a thin white oxford top – revealing a bright red bra underneath – under a mini leather jacket with a pair of thigh high boots to complete the look. Her rosebud lips curled wickedly and she batted her lashes at him and sidled closer, but Elizabeth growled and the lethal look in her sapphire eyes sent the little slut scurrying.

Jason frowned at her retreating figure, musing to himself that the spirited artist at his side had more class in her little finger than that woman of questionable morals – not to mention, fashion sense – would probably ever have. "Who the hell was that?"

The brunette in his arms rolled her doe eyes. "Local skank, Sam McCall. She's always creeping around."

The older man chuckled and led her toward the diner. "Don't worry about it – every town has one. Thankfully, our hookers in New York manage to stick to at least one part of town."

Elizabeth was giggling as he held the door for her and ushered her into the charming little diner. Bobbie Spencer and Mike Corbin looked up as the two of them entered, and Elizabeth sent a giant grin their way. "Two cups of hot chocolate, please – with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles."

Jason shot her an amused look and just shrugged. "When in Rome…"

Bobbie smiled to herself, shooting Mike a wink, and moved to fill the orders, all the while keeping an eye on the new couple. Jason was hanging up Elizabeth's jacket next to his on the coat rack and looping her scarf over it as the brunette ran her fingers through her hair to dislodge the water and snow.

"Now to pick the perfect music," the brunette grinned as Jason grabbed them a table near the jukebox. "How do you feel about Dean Martin?"

"Passionately," Jason feigned with a grin, placing a hand over his heart.

Bobbie placed the hot chocolate on their table and watched as Elizabeth laughed. "Excellent answer," she replied cheekily over her shoulder to her companion.

_Later on, we'll conspire  
__As we dream by the fire_

"You've never had hot chocolate with whipped cream and sprinkles before, have you?" Elizabeth asked sagely as she watched Jason gingerly take a sip.

The businessman shook his head. "I'm a coffee and beer kind of guy."

"Oh, we have us a cocoa virgin," the brunette smirked wickedly. "Jeez, Jason, I have so much to teach you."

Jason's eyes glittered. "I'm not averse to it." She giggled and sipped her cocoa happily, giving him a long moment to watch her. "And I've got a counter-offer for you."

She lifted a brow over her cup of hot chocolate. "Let's hear it."

"You let me show you around New York-"

"But we already-"

"The _right_ way, on a _real_ date." His arresting blue eyes held her gaze and Jason smiled when she nodded. "Good. This Friday night – is that good?"

Elizabeth smiled and nodded slowly. "Yeah, it's perfect."

_To face unafraid the plans that we made  
__While walking in a winter wonderland_

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment just smiling at each other, and Jason's eyes zeroed in on her lush mouth when the brunette beauty began nibbling on her lower lip.

"Hey, Jason?"

His eyes lifted to hers. "Yeah?"

Elizabeth's smile was slow and genuine. "I'm _really_ glad you got stuck here."

The older man laughed and crossed his arms over the table, leaning toward her with a warm smile. "Just one more reason to love the snow."

_Walking in a winter wonderland._

**The End.**

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**Song**: Winter Wonderland  
**Artist**: Dean Martin


End file.
